I absolutely love Disney’s Magical Express (DME). The service is complimentary to guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resorthotel and provides transportation from Orlando International Airport to your resort. Guests also have the option of tagging their luggage before leaving home and “magically” finding it in their rooms once in Florida. This saves a lot of aggravation when traveling because you don’t have to drag suitcases around or wait at baggage claim. You simply hop on a bus and let Disney do the driving. While aboard, you’re treated to a video creating even more excitement for your vacation. For as long as I can remember, the film has been the same and definitely needed some updating. Low and behold, DME TV has been born and is ready to showcase some of the new offerings Walt Disney World has to offer.

Disney’s Magical Express video is now called DME TV and gives guests information that helps them make the most out of a Walt Disney World vacation.

DME TV is the updated version of the Magical Express video which debuted late last month and is now played on all DME buses en route to the World. It offers information about attractions, dining, ticket media, and special guests experiences. Guests learn about each park, major attractions they offer, and ways to make the most out of their vacation. This includes a brief overview of hard ticket events such as Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party or special dining experiences for Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival. It’s fun to see the reactions of the children on board (both kid age and kid-at-heart). Many squeal when they see an attraction they like! Sibling rivalry is displayed at its best when the video talks of the Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom, an interactive game guests can play in the park.

DME TV plays both on your way to Walt Disney World as well as on the way back to Orlando International Airport aboard your Disney Motor Coach.

DME TV introduces something new to the on board experience: an insider look at Imagineering. For those of you Disney veterans out there, it’s fun to learn the history of Walt Disney World and its most famous attractions. I was pleasantly surprised to see segments with the Imagineers responsible for “making the magic,” so to speak. They discuss how the rides were built and even offer some special things to look for when at the attraction itself. For example, do you know about the one-eyed cat at the Haunted Mansion? This feline friend was originally supposed to be inside the mansion itself, but never made it. Once the line queue was updated, he finally made his debut. Be sure to look for him!

The new video explores all that Walt Disney World has to offer.

DME TV discusses vacation planning along with other Disney outlets including Disney Vacation Club and Disney VISA.

Jason Surrell, a senior Imagineer and show writer, tells the story of Walt’s fascination with trains. Clips are shown of Walt enjoying them at Disneyland. Surrell then goes on to talk about how trains are a staple in the Disney Parks. I love how Disney history is mixed in now on the video. It really adds to the appreciation of all that goes into creating the parks’ attractions.

In addition to Imagineers, Disney animators like Ducky Williams also make an appearance and show us how Mickey and the gang come to life. It’s fun to see how the characters are drawn. If you want to try it for yourself, be sure to stop by Disney’s Hollywood Studios and visit The Magic of Disney Animation. There, you can learn about the animation process and work on your own character drawing.

The Magic of Disney Animation

Now that the new FastPass+ and MagicBand system is expanding testing throughout the resorts and parks, DME TV explains it to guests in detail. I really appreciated this as it educates everyone on how it works, what it can do for you, and where to access it regardless of whether you have a smartphone or not. This helps guests learn of what is available for them if they choose to utilize FastPasses during their visit.

My Disney Experience is a new way to customize your vacation using the Walt Disney World website or a special app for your phone or tablet.

The app allows you to check wait times for the attractions as well as reserve ride times for you and your family.

MagicBands are currently in the testing phase and are rolling out to more resorts everyday.

Overall, I really appreciate DME TV and its role on Disney’s Magical Express. It’s fresh and modern. I also love how it lets you meet some of Disney’s best cast members and learn more about their lives at Walt Disney World (be on the lookout for the story of one who lost 60 pounds dancing with guests during the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Parade!). Enjoy your vacation, everybody!

Born and raised in New Jersey, Nicole is an avid Disney fan and frequents both Walt Disney World and Disneyland several times each year. Interests include Walt Disney Imagineering, merchandise, dining, backstage tours, and more. You can also find her on The DIS Unplugged forum on DISBoards.com. Be sure to check out Nicole's other articles here on the DIS Blog and follow her on Twitter @DISNikkiBell for regular updates about all things Disney!

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Daniel Birnbaum

The new DME-TV is awful and it looks like it was made for $5 by a group of folks who have no experience writing or filming or producing video. I’m really embarrassed for Disney and they should do everything in their power to get it off their bus monitors as quickly as possible. I cannot believe something so terribly low in production value was ever allowed to be viewed by guests.

jck

Disney’s Magical Express is not FREE it is in the room price and everyone pays use it or NOT.

DIS.PR.Florida

That is incorrect. See statement below!

beerman42

There is no free lunch, they charge $70 to take you or pick you up to go to PC to get on DCL.

Kathy Werling

Disney’s Magical Express is free. Disney Cruise Line transfers are $70 roundtrip. They are two separate businesses.

beerman42

Kathy its not free, you pay over and over and over.

Nicole L. Mancini

I think the assumption is that the price of ME is built into resort costs which I guess could be true, but I don’t recall the room stays going up when ME was first implemented. Either way, there is no separate charge for using the service. Years ago, people would pay for Mears shuttle or a private car service; that no longer has to happen with ME.

beerman42

Still run by Mears, yes we all pay for it. Just like the WDW buses. But they stay on property thus do not need to meet some state requirements. Their are also CDL reqirements for the buses on interestate.Disney has decided to let someelse deal with that. Same thing would happen if drivers tried to form union on WDW buses. They would turn it over to many smaller outside companies. Limo service is still much cheeper for 4 or more.

DIS.PR.Florida

ME is FREE! ( Outside of the tip, if you so desire.) Nicole is correct in her assumption that the resort costs did not go up with the implementation of ME. The driving force of the ME was a marketing ploy to get the guests from MCO to WDW resorts. With the exception of the value resorts, the other WDW resorts were suffering in attendance to other competitive resorts/hotels, and needed to be filled with guests. Before ME, Disney’s marketing department did a survey on guests coming in to MCO on why they chose a competitor over them. The top results were threefold: 1) The competitor had less expensive lodging, and even with renting a vehicle at MCO, the costs between the lodging and the car was cheaper than a WDW resort, except the value resort. 2) Food at the resorts, for the most part, are more expensive than food at a competitive resort/hotel. and finally 3) The resorts were “stale”. The meaning of this was that WDW had not done much with renovation or adding new resorts in quite some time. Meanwhile timeshares and other resorts/hotels were keeping up with the times, prompting a desire to stay at something new or “fresh”.

With the implementation of ME and the update, or building, of resorts, WDW reservations has increased in guests by 14%. This is a number that could have even been higher if not for the recession. Yes, an argument can be made that you are paying for the Magical Express but after what I have outlined here you can see the real reason behind this free service. If that’s not enough, than let me present this fact. Area hotels, especially in Kissimmee, have dropped in attendance since ME was in place. It costs Disney money for maintaining ME, but it costs the competitors even more for Disney having ME. And that folks is marketing 101.

If that doesn’t make sense to you, by all means pay $120-200 for a limo for 4 for one-way. Then go to an area hotel, find a way to the Disney parks every day, and tell me what’s left in your wallet.

beerman42

When is the last time you did a P & L statement for a publiclly traded Corp. Income minus expenses equals profits. Mears buses no matter what you call them are expenses. Since the stockholders forced Mr Isner out the Disney Corp has been under greater and greater pressure to produce that profit and declare larger dividens. The price of admission to parks has steadly increased in the past five years. This past year it was 25 dollars per person for our family or $125.00 so do not tell me the busses are free. If you read all of the boards you will find out it will not be long untill their is a charge.

DIS.PR.Florida

Wow, sorry I took so long to write back, I thought I made my point clear. Somehow I get the feeling that corresponding with a person named beerman42, that no matter what I say, it’s not going to matter, but here goes anyway. Again, M.E. is free! You pay nothing OUT OF YOUR POCKET, AT THAT TIME, to board the busses. If you did, you got screwed.

Now obviously we all know that there is no free lunch, no argument here; but the point of this article is that ME is a COMPLIMENTARY/FREE service offered by Disney. You will pay the same amount of money for a Disney vacation at any of the WDW resorts, regardless if you use this service or not. The costs in the resorts, parks, food, souvenirs, or anything else equated to Disney’s assets is the same whether you fly in, drive in, or walk onto the WDW grounds . So with that being said, why not take advantage of a free bus ride from MCO to Disney?

ME busses are expenses, yes you are correct, but they are also assets in the eyes of WDW. The reasons are those of which I had mentioned in a prior discussion. This is what you would see in an operations statement from the Dis Corp per WDW company. ME busses would be under the expenses and liabilities columns. Attributes would be gasoline, payroll, machinery (busses), depreciation (busses), and rental space at MCO. I’m pretty sure I am missing one or two, but you get the idea. Now the assets. You cannot see these assets on any WDW financial statements, but they are assets none the less. You land at MCO, get off the plane, then board the ME bus. Guess what, you are now on your way to a Disney resort, cha-ching… cash flow courtesy of ME. Now your at the resort and your hungry, again, cha-ching… cash flow courtesy of the resort, which was subsidized by ME. No need for me to go on. The cash flow is boundless as you know. Thus assets ( Even though invisible) are greater than the liabilities/expenses of the ME. This is why they are free to ride.

On top of the places were ME goes is where ME doesn’t go, that continues to make ME affordable for Disney at a free cost. These invisible assets, especially to the marketing and public relations departments, makes sure you spend your money at Disney, not Universal, Sea World, or Busch Gardens. Sure you can get a car from a few places around Disney to travel elsewhere, but according to the financial statements from WDW, after the implementation of ME, most guests stayed in the immediate area. I guess what I am saying is that before ME, you had to rent a car from MCO to WDW which gave you options to drive elsewhere to spend money. I suppose you could of taken a taxi or limo but that would just be stupid. Too costly. Anyway, ME eliminated a lot of car rentals at MCO and surrounding areas, according to WDW’s marketing analysis and financial statements. This gave WDW more of a market share than prior to ME.

BTW, I am now a freelance financial/marketing advisor after parting ways as a Consumer Insight Manager with WDW. The story you said about Disney being under great pressure to produce gross profit is true, but it is also the case with the other LCC’s and corporation’s I have serviced in the last 13 weeks. The recession hit so hard in 2008, that many corporations are now in what is called the “Great Depression Mode.” (AKA….Cut as many liabilities/expenses to produce a greater profit margin because we lost so much of our cash flow six years ago.

My apologies. Due to time constraints I will not be able to get back on here since this is my busy time; fiscal year end on Jan 31st for most of the companies I work for as well as tax preparation for the public and private sectors. I hope I have enlightened you. If not, see if you can find any operations statements that leaked online before and after the implementation of ME at WDW. That will enlighten you.

Ron

For all of you complaining of costs at WDW, just don’t go. Easy and no more complaints. For those of us that consider it a fulfilling family vacation that is unique throughout the World, keep the faith. The traditions of Walt will continue and like anything else, costs will rise.

DIS.PR.Florida

Almost forgot, you stated, “If you read all of the boards you will find out it will not be long until there is a charge” which is hearsay/speculation! People make too many assumptions on the WWW. Employees of WDW privileged to info like that could not disperse said rumor for fear of losing position. Not that I’m saying that it wont come true, but like I said, after the marketing analysis I saw, Disney would have to come up with a back-up plan to keep guests from straying to other parks. Unless gas skyrockets in costs.

William Stewart Jr

@beerman42:disqus ,
Ok , And look at how any buses Disney uses for its` Magical Express Service and it is still free.
And all because the Disney’s Magical Express buses are provided by Mears Destination Services, and a P & L statement for a publiclly traded Corp. , Disney might start charging for it ? If that were the case, they would have already started charging extra for this , a long time ago .
I`ll put it to you this way, When you`ve paid that $125.00 or your family to visit Walt Disney World , did a cast member stand outside of the bus and say that you must pay this fee to get on the bus today, on top of that ? If not, that right there says that Disney’s Magical Express Services are free of charge with Your Disney Resort Hotel Reservation, and will always be that way .
So therefore, You and anyone else on this board and any other Disney Fan Board talking about Disney may start charging extra for their bus services needs to clean y`all’s lie up, because history and logic says that this will never ever happen.
Thanks .

beerman42

The DIS boards have this way of telling us whats coming. Expect a charge for the service in rear future. The idea without free bus people would go to other attractions is totally absurd. The cost of a visit to WDW is the highest vaction cost in the country. Its has gone up even more % wise in the pass five years. DCL just made moves that rasies prices by as much as 15 to 20 %. They are locking things up.

To individual who does not like Beermam42, I say do not judge a book by its cover. To you I say if you think the free bus ride is what is important to make you go to WDW then you are not looking past the end of your nose.

seabreezy

I was very disappointed in the new DME video. Although I agree it needed updating, I miss the original narrator and all the Disney characters that made the bus ride and video magical!!! Too bad they didn’t combine the old with the new..

Access Transportation

I like your post how your share your experience on Disney Magical Express. I really appreciate DME TV and its role on Disney’s Magical Express. It’s fresh and modern. I also love how it lets you meet some of Disney’s best cast members and learn more about their lives at Walt Disney World